The art is replete with in-home and portable cases for storing old vinyl record albums and today's compact discs. Most of these systems and carrying cases require that the discs first be put back in their liners, or in the case of compact discs, in their jewel cases. Thus, the discs are not stored by themselves, but rather in the liners or cases in which they were sold. Accordingly, the user is actually forced to go through two storage procedures, the first procedure being the act of inserting or reinstalling the disc into its liner or jewel case, the second act being the actual storage of the disc-containing liner or jewel case into a storage system or carrying case of some sort. Having to perform both procedures is not only time-consuming, it is also inconvenient. Many people also find the process of opening the jewel box and mounting the disc properly onto the mound in the center of the jewel box to be quite confusing. The procedure is even more difficult for the driver of a motor vehicle who desires to change compact discs while he is operating the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,957 to Ackeret discusses the problem of changing compact discs in an automobile while operating the automobile and provides a system for facilitating such which includes a plurality of holders, each of which houses a single compact disc. The holders are movable between a storage position and a disc removal position which presents a disc for removal and use. Ackeret also discloses that the walls of the holder are of concave construction so that only the outer edge of a disc can contact the holder.
While the device of Ackeret is interesting, it requires that a user push a button to eject the desired disc and further requires that the user exert a certain amount of pressure on the disc as it is being inserted into a holder to store the disc. It would also be difficult for an individual using this system to be able to identify which disc is stored in which holder unless each holder is labeled with the title of the music or data recorded on the disc. It also has a number of moving parts which would make the device somewhat difficult to manufacture. In addition, it would utilize a lot of material since each disc requires its own movable holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,303,299 to Hahl discloses a holder for holding older style phonographic records. The holder includes a sheet of flexible material--for instance paper board--which defines a series of curved or arcuate pockets, each of which is designed to hold a record. The width of each pocket is slightly less than the diameter of the record so that the ends of the pocket prevent the record from falling through the pocket. The flexible body portion enables the records to be tilted forward so that each successive disc is spaced slightly from the next disc, which would appear to facilitate grasping of each disc.
While the Hahl holder is interesting and would appear to work as long as the system is suspended in a vertical position, it would not appear to keep the discs sufficiently separated from each other if it were placed in a horizontal position. The sides of the records would likely contact each other and thus become scratched and/or dented when the holder is positioned horizontally. In fact, even in a vertically oriented position, it is quite likely that the sides of pocket 6 would scratch the sides of a record being inserted and/or removed from a pocket.
Other patents found in a search for subject matter related to the present invention are as follows:
______________________________________ 4,676,372 4,776,457 4,778,047 5,027,955 5,027,950 4,753,343 4,747,488 4,717,019 ______________________________________
In view of the above, it is apparent that while some systems have been developed for holding recording discs which enable a user to quickly store and remove discs, a need still exists for a system which is easier to use and simpler to manufacture than those described above and which protects the sides of discs being removed from and/or inserted into the system. Such a system would preferably enable one to quickly scan all discs stored in the system so that one is able to easily identify the title or artist of each disc. Moreover, such a system would preferably enable such scanning without requiring any labeling system for the discs. Such a system would also hold the discs securely so that they do not move when subjected to lateral shaking forces. In addition, such a system would preferably include a lid which, when closed, would preferably prevent the discs from shifting or moving relative to the system, no matter how the system is shaked, i.e. even if it is turned upside down.